The scientific vision of the E-RIHS ERIC

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The scientific vision of the E-RIHS ERIC
Loïc Bertrand, Science Director, Preparatory Phase, E-RIHS

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Advanced studies in heritage science
Tangible objects and collections from cultural heritage and natural history
Objects and collections
– From museums, galleries, libraries and archives
– From monuments, archaeological and palaeontological sites
Materials and materiality turn

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The flagship infrastructure in heritage science
– Thousands of objects are and need to be studied, documented, interpreted and
preserved
– Major projects on collections and sites are launched on a national, European (ERC,
Horizon EU, Marie Skłodowska-Curie) and international scales
E-RIHS provides a unique opportunity to review our analytical operating chain to
better adapt it to the study of heritage materials
In-depth open exchange on policies and procedures is essential to construct
consensus.

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Specificity of heritage materials
Three issues common to conservation sciences, art history, paleontology, paleo-
anthropology and archaeology:
– Their past: technique, use & circulation; political, cultural and symbolic values; history,
alteration & taphonomy
– The diagnosis of their current state
– Their future evolution
Heritage materials are:
– Heterogeneous and composite at all scales
– Of unknown production, use and ageing conditions
– Often rare or fragile...

5. synchrotron, laser, ion beam,
neutron, microscopy
dating, biogeochemistry
genomics, proteomics
access to scientific archives
access to reference collections
data documentation and sharing
high performance computing
DIGILAB
Data Infrastructure
ARCHLAB
Scientific archives
MOLAB
Fleet of advanced mobile instruments
FIXLAB
Large-scale facilities
portable instruments
material sampling

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The heritage object at
the centre
The object is placed at the
centre of the infrastructure
operation, recognizing the
specificities of the study of
heritage materials and their
impacts on the whole research
process
DIGILAB
Data Infrastructure ARCHLAB
Scientific archives
MOLAB
Fleet of advanced
mobile instruments
FIXLAB
Large-scale facilities

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10 pillars (E-RIHS Scientific Vision, Mar. 2018)
1. Competencies first – Giving priority to skills
2. Interdisciplinarity – Optimising work for teams with complementary cultures and practices
3. Co-creation – Recognizing the contribution of each participant
4. Communication – Benefiting from the public dimension of heritage institutions
5. Excellence – Supporting outstanding projects
6. Interoperability – Connecting knowledge
7. Innovation – Developing E-RIHS and the study of heritage
8. International – Collaborating at the global level
9. Ethics – Encouraging ethically and socially responsible heritage research
10. Quality – Ensuring the best possible user experience

12. Competencies first
Considering skills as
central
“Access to expertise” as
much as to instruments
and databases
Recognition of the
contribution of all team
members
Training for E-RIHS users
and staff

13. Interdisciplinarity
Optimising work for
teams with
complementary cultures
and practices
Access of multidisciplinary
teams rather than of
isolated individuals
Association of scientists
from Humanities,
experimental sciences and
natural sciences
A model interdisciplinary
infrastructure in itself

14. Co-creation
Recognizing the
contribution of each
participant
A culture of exchange and
cooperation
Recognising contributions
at equal level
Co-publication as a default
practice

15. Excellence
Supporting outstanding
projects
An E-RIHS label for multiple
accesses of major initiatives
A single entry point for
long-term, short-term and
exploratory projects
A transparent selection
process that centrally
integrates heritage criteria

16. Interoperability
Connecting knowledge
Coupling of physical
instruments
Facilitation of data sharing
and reuse with the
Heritage Data Reuse
Charter
Towards intelligent tools
that bring together
measurements and data

17. International
Collaborating at the
global level
Global lead of Europe in
the field of heritage
science
Connection with main
European and international
infrastructures, in particular
DARIAH
Liaising with ICCROM,
UNESCO, the IAEA and
professional bodies

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Foreseen impacts
– Developing new knowledge and new methods
– Fully integrating the development of data sciences and imaging
– Contributing to indisciplinarity, through the hybridization of disciplinary fields, with
specific challenges in restoration, art history, paleontology, environmental sciences,
statistics…
– Contributing to the emergence of a new generation of scientists
... a benefit beyond the community of ancient materials and heritage

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European and national consultations
March 2017: Florence
May 2017: Brussels
May 2017: Heraklion
August 2017: Paris
September 2017: Prague
November 2017: Brussels
November 2017: Vienna
December 2017: London
January 2018: Paris
February 2018: Amsterdam
October 2018: Paris
October 2018: Florence…

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Future steps
The E-RIHS Scientific Vision
Main principles: the 10 pillars
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Which tools and which competences?
– Instruments
– Data
– Identifying what is lacking
Which procedures ?
Establish continuity in the operating chain
– Access through long, short or exploratory projects
– Collaborative work around data and reuse
– Training and interdisciplinary sharing
The E-RIHS Scientific Strategy

21. Institut de France, Paris
13–16 February 2019
2200 expected participants
World Meeting
Heritage, Science
and Technology

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Five key simplified processes
1. A unified entry point with evaluation criteria suited to the field
2. A simplified process to support ambitious long-term projects
3. An operative framework to catalog, share and reuse data
4. Day-to-day coupled instruments
5. Coordinated development, training, events and quality assessment

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Acknowledgement
Demetrios Anglos, Piero Baglioni, Loïc Bertrand, Emilio Cano, Marta Castillejo, Bénédicte
Charbonnel, Serge Cohen, Cynthia Colmellere, José Delgado Rodrigues, Sophie David, Hilde De
Clercq, Miloš Drdácký, Ornella Giacomo, Denis Girou, Martina Griesser, Sorin Hermon, Hans
Huisman, Ineke Joosten, Zsolt Kasztovszky, Imre Kovács, Mathieu Lebon, Aline Magnien, María
Martín Gil, Costanza Miliani, João-Manuel Mimoso, Roland May, Michel Menu, Isabelle Pallot-
Frossard, Rémi Petitcol, Luca Pezzati, Marie Puren, Solenn Reguer, Laurent Romary, Véronique
Rouchon, Mohamed Sahnouni, Philippe Sciau, Sebastian Schoeder, Roberto Scopigno, Marika
Spring, Jana Striova, Matija Strlic, Piotr Targowski, Mary Teehan, Mathieu Thoury, Livius
Trache, Robert van Langh, Jan van ’t Hof, Patricia Wills, Séverine Zirah…

24. The project E-RIHS PP received funding from the European Union programme H2020-
INFRADEV-02-2016 Grant Agreement n.739503
E-RIHS was officially adopted by the ESFRI roadmap in December 2016
website
www.e-rihs.eu
email
co@e-rihs.eu
contact
Loïc Bertrand
Thank you
for your attention!

26. Engagement
Benefiting from the
public dimension of
heritage institutions
Heritage is by definition in
the community and
accessible to the
community
Enhancing the way citizens
access and interact with
heritage
Interaction with the
creative industries

27. Innovation
Developing E-RIHS and
the study of heritage
New instruments, digital
tools and methodologies
Imaging, hybridization,
multimodality and data
fusion
Stimulation of innovation by
taking into account the
constraints of each
discipline

28. Ethics
Encouraging ethically
and socially responsible
heritage research
Highest standards of ethical
conducts
A direct practical
implication of working on
heritage
Equal opportunities and
recognition of the value of
diversity

29. Quality
Ensuring the best
possible user experience
Application to all
infrastructure activities
A quality system based on
measurable performance
indicators
Evaluation of the
satisfaction of teams